Aspects of a method and system for physical layer aggregation are provided. An example method includes receiving, form a medium access control (MAC) layer protocol entity, data encapsulated into a packet comprising a preamble, fragmenting said packet into a plurality of fragment payloads, and conveying each of said fragment payloads to said third portion of said one or more circuits, wherein at least one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises one or more octets copied from said preamble.
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1. A system comprising: one or more circuits for use in a network device, a first portion of said one or more circuits being operable to implement media access control (MAC) functions, a second portion of said one or more circuits being operable to perform physical layer aggregation, and a third portion of said one or more circuits being operable to perform physical-layer functions for communicating over a plurality of physical links, wherein: said first portion of said one or more circuits is operable to encapsulate data into a packet comprising a preamble and convey said packet to said second portion of said one or more circuits; said second portion of said one or more circuits is operable to fragment said packet into a plurality of fragment payloads and convey each of said fragment payloads to said third portion of said one or more circuits, wherein at least one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises a preamble having each bit sequentially copied from said preamble of said packet; and said third portion of said one or more circuits is operable to add a header to each of said plurality of fragment payloads to generate a corresponding plurality of fragments, and send said plurality of fragments over one or more of said plurality of physical links.
A network device uses multiple circuit portions to improve network communication. A first circuit portion handles Media Access Control (MAC) functions. A second circuit portion aggregates data at the physical layer. A third circuit portion manages physical-layer communication over multiple physical links. The MAC portion encapsulates data into a packet containing a preamble, sending it to the aggregation portion. The aggregation portion breaks the packet into multiple fragments, and sends those fragments to the physical-layer portion. At least one of these fragments includes a copy of the original packet's preamble. Finally, the physical-layer portion adds a header to each fragment and sends them over the physical links.
2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises said preamble of said packet.
The network device described previously, where the fragment that copies the preamble contains the entire original preamble from the packet, ensuring the beginning of the packet data is readily available at the receiving end of the physical links.
3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said plurality of physical links is associated with a single logical link.
In the network device described previously, the multiple physical links are treated as a single logical link, meaning the data transmitted across the various physical connections is seen as a single stream by higher-level protocols, increasing throughput and bandwidth.
4. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said one or more circuits enable generation of a sequence number within each said header.
The network device described previously includes the ability to generate a sequence number in the header added to each fragment. This sequence number allows the receiver to reassemble the fragments in the correct order, even if they arrive out of order, preventing data corruption.
5. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said one or more circuits enable generation of an indication within said header when a corresponding one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises a first fragment from said packet.
In the network device described previously, the header added to each fragment contains an indication (a flag or bit) of whether the fragment is the first fragment from the original packet. This informs the receiver that the fragment contains the beginning of the packet data.
6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said one or more circuits enable generation of an indication within said header when a corresponding one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises a last fragment from said packet.
In the network device described previously, the header added to each fragment contains an indication of whether the fragment is the last fragment from the original packet. This information allows the receiver to know when it has received all the fragments for a complete packet.
7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said one or more circuits enable generation of an error check field based on said header.
The network device described previously includes an error check field (like a CRC) in the header of each fragment. This field is calculated based on the header's content and allows the receiver to verify the integrity of the header, detecting any potential corruption during transmission.
8. A method for communication in a data communication system, the method comprising: performing by one or more circuits of a networking device: receiving, from a first portion of said one or more circuits, data encapsulated into a packet comprising a preamble; fragmenting said packet into a plurality of fragment payloads utilizing a second portion of said one or more circuits; and conveying each of said plurality of fragment payloads to a third portion of said one or more circuits, wherein at least one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises a preamble having each hit sequentially copied from said preamble of said packet.
A method for communication in a data communication system uses multiple circuit portions of a networking device. The method includes receiving data encapsulated in a packet with a preamble from a first circuit portion. The packet is then fragmented into multiple fragment payloads using a second circuit portion. Each of these fragments is sent to a third circuit portion. At least one fragment contains a copy of the entire original packet's preamble.
9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein said at least one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises said preamble of said packet.
The communication method described previously, where the fragment that copies the preamble contains the entire original preamble from the packet, ensuring the beginning of the packet data is readily available at the receiving end of the physical links.
10. The method according to claim 8 further comprising: adding a header to each of said plurality of fragment payloads to generate a corresponding plurality of fragments utilizing said third portion of said one or more circuits; and sending said corresponding plurality of fragments over one or more of a plurality of physical links.
The communication method described previously adds a header to each fragment to create fragments, and sends these fragments across one or more physical links using the third circuit portion. The header contains metadata about the fragment, like sequence number and flags.
11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein said plurality of physical links is associated with a single logical link.
In the communication method described previously, the multiple physical links used to send the fragments are treated as a single logical link, increasing throughput and bandwidth.
12. The method according to claim 10 , wherein said third portion of said one or more circuits enables generation of a sequence number within each said header.
In the communication method described previously, the header added to each fragment includes a sequence number, allowing the receiver to reassemble fragments in the correct order.
13. The method according to claim 10 , wherein said third portion of said one or more circuits enables generation of an indication within said header when a corresponding one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises a first fragment from said packet.
In the communication method described previously, the header of each fragment indicates whether it contains the first fragment of the original packet.
14. The method according to claim 10 , wherein said third portion of said one or more circuits enables generation of an indication within said header when a corresponding one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises a last fragment from said packet.
In the communication method described previously, the header of each fragment indicates whether it contains the last fragment of the original packet.
15. A computer system having stored thereon, a computer program having at least one code section being executable to perform: receiving, from a first portion of one or more circuits of said computer system, data encapsulated into a packet comprising a preamble; fragmenting said packet into a plurality of fragment payloads utilizing a second portion of said one or more circuits; and conveying each of said plurality of fragment payloads to a third portion of said one or more circuits, wherein at least one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises a preamble having each bit sequentially copied from said preamble of said packet.
A computer program stored on a computer system is executable to perform specific functions. These functions include receiving a data packet with a preamble from a first circuit portion, fragmenting the packet into fragment payloads using a second circuit portion, and sending each fragment payload to a third circuit portion. At least one fragment payload contains a copy of the packet's preamble.
16. The computer system according to claim 15 , wherein said at least one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises said preamble.
The computer system from the previous description, where the fragment that copies the preamble contains the entire original preamble from the packet, ensuring the beginning of the packet data is readily available at the receiving end of the physical links.
17. The computer system according to claim 15 , wherein said at least one code section being executable to further perform: adding a header to each of said plurality of fragment payloads to generate a corresponding plurality of fragments; and sending said corresponding plurality of fragments over one or more of a plurality of physical links.
The computer program, described previously, is further executable to add a header to each fragment payload to generate fragments and send these fragments over one or more physical links. This facilitates physical layer aggregation.
18. The computer system according to claim 17 , wherein said plurality of physical links is associated with a single logical link.
In the computer program described previously, the multiple physical links are treated as a single logical link, maximizing bandwidth and simplifying upper-layer protocol handling.
19. The computer system according to claim 17 , wherein said at least one code section is executable to further enable generation of a sequence number within each said header.
In the computer program described previously, the header of each fragment includes a sequence number, allowing the receiver to reassemble the fragments into the correct order, mitigating packet loss and ensuring proper data reconstruction.
20. The computer system according to claim 17 , wherein said at least one code section is executable to further enable generation of an indication within said header when a corresponding one of said plurality of fragment payloads comprises a first fragment from said packet.
In the computer program described previously, the header added to each fragment contains an indication of whether it is the first fragment of the original packet. This enables the receiver to correctly identify the start of the packet within the fragmented stream.
21. The system of claim 1 , wherein said preamble of said packet is not removed before fragmenting said packet into said plurality of fragment payloads.
The network device described in the first claim performs fragmentation without removing the preamble from the original packet. The preamble is preserved and copied into at least one of the resulting fragments.
22. The method of claim 8 , wherein said preamble of said packet is not removed before said fragmenting said packet into said plurality of fragment payloads.
The communication method described in claim 8 performs fragmentation without removing the preamble from the original packet. The preamble is preserved and copied into at least one of the resulting fragments.
23. The computer system according to claim 15 , wherein said preamble of said packet is not removed before said fragmenting said packet into said plurality of fragment payloads.
The computer system described in claim 15 performs fragmentation without removing the preamble from the original packet. The preamble is preserved and copied into at least one of the resulting fragments.
24. The system of claim 1 , wherein a first one of said plurality of fragments begins with said preamble of said packet.
In the network device previously described, the first fragment of the plurality of fragments sent across the physical links begins with the entire original preamble of the original packet.
25. The method of claim 8 , wherein a first one of said plurality of fragments begins with said preamble of said packet.
In the communication method previously described, the first fragment of the plurality of fragments sent across the physical links begins with the entire original preamble of the original packet.
26. The computer system of claim 15 , wherein a first one of said plurality of fragments begins with said preamble of said packet.
In the computer system previously described, the first fragment of the plurality of fragments sent across the physical links begins with the entire original preamble of the original packet.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
July 26, 2011
July 16, 2013
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